Dato Yunus Raiss

He who made me believe in myself, and helped me reclaim my self-confidence. He who made me stand up for what I want, and encouraged me to dream big. He who introduced me the word 'Wisdom', and taught me how to acquire it. He acknowledged my strengths more than I do. He reminded me to be a good person, not just rich and intelligent. He spotted my weaknesses when I was clueless about it. He patiently and endlessly corrected my repeated mistakes, and that was the best gift in my self-betterment journey.  You were always there, guided my overthinking mind,  answered my philosophical questions. You shared about life and love, while eating Mee Rebus, like an Atuk giving precious advice to his cucu . Your warm 'Hello!' and 'Bye!' on the phone, will sincerely be missed. Your words of great wisdom, will forever be remembered. Your final word to me  will be my strength to fly. Now, I must learn to cherish what I

https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2019/08/513656/impatient-fools-loyal-friends

He didn’t learn to read or write until he was fifteen, but the man today who is stitched in white and being lowered into Wealden clay beside the commuter line near Woking could turn a poem – though that, in truth, was not his calling. He knew the art of encouraging, certainly. His school at the heart of Covent Garden might have been its soul. He offered to help me, as the tailor he was apprenticed to had helped him climb out of poverty and reach the first of his twelve degrees, at last achieving the top rung. Magistrate. Datuk Yunus. Entrepreneur of Englishness, whose own vowels puffed at the pennant that flew its proud colour from his suit pocket, blew in the silken rigging of the ties he wore, elaborate, knotted as if to moor himself Melayu. We saw him at St Pancras, the Renaissance Hotel, last winter. Not well, but still the complete man, distinguishable, enthroned with waiting travellers. Unintimidated, he lies among sultans now. Beneat

I was looking for a place to do my highest degree, This busy city was the last place I could imagine, Little did I know I would cross path with someone, And that relationship stayed for 3 years and 10 months. I came to a foreign land with a foreign culture, Even the language I knew sounded so unfamiliar, I found comfort in his teaching that decoded, Of many things that seemed peculiar. With his stimulating ideas, I started to view things with a critical mind. I learned from him not to feel complacent with the status quo, For I should not just follow the tempo. He reminded me that entitlement is nothing, For I should strive for everything. The journey of unlearn and relearn my thinking habits, Was hard in the beginning, but it was worth trying. Though admitting faults in my thinking hurt my pride, The changes it brought to my outlook couldn't be described. You trained me to become an original thinker, You showed me the way to becom

Assalamualaikum WBT. Today I want to share a class with you, I like to call it 'sharing session'. I have been attending this class every Friday night for the past 3 years since I started my Ph.D. I have benefited a lot from this class. This class called "English Language; British Culture & Intellectual Thought for Malaysages", held every Friday from 6.00 to 8.00 pm. The aim is to help Malay students in the UK improve their English language and better cultural insights required by current affairs. Back in Malaysia, I was brought up in a 'safe' environment where I was not exposed as much to the 'world'. So, when I first came to London to do my Master's, I was a bit of culture shock. My first 3 months were quite tough; first to catching up with the language (their British's accent) and secondly adapting to the culture (social and way of thinking). But, sadly back then, I didn't know about this class, so I managed the adaptation proce

HOMAGE TO A Corner of Lancashire For Ever Malaya Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) M.Ed, Barrister, Dip TEFL, Dip Ed Research  21.12.2018 I Invasion by Invitation A passage to Blighty, Nature’s island fortress, invasion by invitation to remould East and West nearer the heart’s desire. Shall I compare these twain to the Spring of Love? More lovely, more dulcet, with great expectations, I must say, a multi-faceted innovation bringing colour to sombre Britain like Edmundo Ros’s hip-swinging rumba to war-torn, determined London. In 1952 they came to little Kirkby from sunny Malaya to austere cold January winter; and in the misty autumn of the same year more arrived, to a fog-choked Liverpool bristling with brollies and bowler hats, to grimy, rainy, colourless Manchester, still with its satanic mills, lost in oversized, sombre overcoats, in sarong, cheongsam, saree, some looking like Maharajahs, some petite cherubim. They learned to b

"You never had it so good," said Harold MacMillan to the people I I ain't no mogul of nothin, mate, But A cat may look at the Queen. Little Lilibet of Mayfair Reached 90 on 22 April 2016 Four days short of Shakespear's nativity. 'Queen Elizabeth II is a Great Queen, a Great Queen indeed' Hockney's Westminster Abbey window proclaims. In 1955 I from the land of the tiger, the pelandok and the hornbill, In a Kirby College blaze glimpsing through the Lancashire morning mist Her Majesty the Queen, was caught in a spell Of mystique and splendour Forever and ever. Full stop. Fire, fire, Hitler's fire, do not come again another day. But if you do, we can take it. We have King George, his brave driver Lilibet, lion Churchill. We are the unbeatables: 'We shall fight on the beaches, in the streets and On the hills. We shall never surrender!' Elizabeth and Philip, Inseparable, conjoined in holy matrimony.

We are leaving, dear Uncle, leaving tomorrow We miss our beautiful Malaysia. Will you remember us sometimes? Always, my intellectual proudly roaring tigers Burning bright in daylight and at night too With hearts of gold and fabled Malay courtesy How will you remember us? Industrious, smiling, co-operative, intelligent. Always with much love, lovely Norhayati, Number One, and sagacious politician Syed, a future PM in the making. When will you remember us? at sunrise, at the going down of the sun, on Fridays. Yes, in winter, spring, summer, autumn in the monsoon rains and the dry hot season too. I will remember you always in all seasons. My two lovely swans. Out of sight, out of mind? Never, twin towers of strength and dignity Like Nelson's Column and Marble Arch in Hyde Park. Never. You will always remain a part of me. Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) M.Ed, Barrister, Dip TEFL, Dip Edu Resear

by Dato Yunus Raiss Dedicated to Dato' Zainul Aziz In the dark of the night with a gentle thud falls the aphrodisiac Durian The Old Man covers his head with a corrugated iron sheet Its intoxicating scent is the old man's increasing heat He looks here, he looks there, for the tantalising seducer by torchlight. The Old Man covers his head with a corrugated iron sheet This Old Man says men are naturally polygamous He looks here, he looks there, for the tantalising seducer by torchlight Women, men know, are very desirable but instinctively monogamous. This Old Man says men are naturally polygamous The Durian easily converted the sagacious Chinese Women, men know, are very desirable but instinctively monogamous Trigger-happy Communists used the Durian to torture the Japanese. The Durian easily converted the sagacious Chinese The well-webbed thorny Durian is not bad or mad or dangerous Trigger-happy Communists used the Durian to torture the

At the Old Bailey Socrates was a brave man in the dock, the midwife to thought did not look sad in the dock. Far away from his retreat, Hitler looked old in the dock, sceptics said he was really mad in the dock. Unsteady on her feet, she swayed in the dock, ‘I’m adulteress,’ she said and crashed in the dock. Strangely enough Mrs Rottenbury was glad in the dock, ‘I’m really, really happy,’ she said, ‘I have my man in the dock’.  You are not mine, Junejan in the dock, You were and remain a cad in the dock. Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) M.Ed, Barrister, Dip TEFL, Dip Edu Research 28.05.2019

Like a thief in the middle of the night You silently came into my unhappy life Your innocent beguiling ways blinded me easily I your caged bird fluttered and twittered merrily Snuff out my miserable little life, snuff it out! Yes, my Hiroshima lover, I gladly said yes to your doubt You gave me life and you subtly took it away too soon Like a Kamikaze pilot’s dive at high noon No, your torrents of tears cannot reach my sepulchre No thanks for your dolefuls of love bittersour No, no thanks for your assistance in my suicide No, I shall not be resurrected for you or your kind. Stop wailing, you disturb my slumber You damned cheating lying murderer! Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) M.Ed, Barrister, Dip TEFL, Dip Edu Research 27.07.2017

I want to say Ziad and Nour had the nous  to have you born within life-giving St Mary’s, birth-place of Princes William and Harry, sons of charming Princess Diana. I want to say you brought your parents joy and sunshine, you’re their eternal treasure beyond compare. You’re the darling of your grandparents, the answer to their prayers in distant historical Syria. I want to say your birth was music to the ears of Hamis; she will teach you the piano with love and tenderness. Four days after you, comes trailing clouds of glory, the baby son of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, Archie, Monday Child fair of face.  On the Sunday before Monday to Paresh and Niral, blithe and bonny son Shishu. I want to say you’re our wonderful princess, time and again we shall celebrate your birth joyously. Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) M.Ed, Barrister, Dip TEFL, Dip Edu Research 07.05.2019

SHE’S GONE! it’s surreal, she’s gone, ever so quietly, in blissful sleep at home, Hoshana! No more tea, or the Archers on the radio for loveable Sheila. The Magnolia Tree, in mourning, has shed its blossom, a silken carpet of pure white tears, where she walked, a magical carpet, celebrating the passing of one of a kind, loveable Sheila. An English Rose with a European heart, a lover of London, a Linguist, a Humanist, a friend of the young, the old, the less able, an irrepressible good Samaritan, a tireless universal aunt, a millstone round the neck of Officialdom, loveable Sheila. Now, the flowers, unwatered, will die, pining for loveable Sheila. Bye Bye Sheila, a heavenly Bluebird, Rest in Peace in a bright corner of your Blue Heaven; we shall meet again some sunny day, loveable Sheila. There is now nothing left to rhapsodise over, Che Sara Sara, loveable Sheila…. A Tribute to my best friend for over half a century: by Y

Two Tulips C & A Seize each day and be happier, brighter, sweeter for yourself, your families and your friends. The gift of life is the same single, married, old or young, Turkish or Malaysian. Only in marriage you think, live and do for two or more, you for him and he for you and both eventually for the baby. The high only a parent can know, the joy of creation. Your every action will revolve around the baby, you will both become experts at baby talk. Heaven lies in smiles, giggles, gurgles and looks. You will reign in two bodies with one soul. Nothing in life comes ready made. Happiness too? You need to make happiness happen, it takes time, effort, love and care. Be wary of the king of thieves, Time; it often catches you napping from behind. To have in life what you dearly love, you must learn to be a sorcerer to turn a sob story into a garden of sweet-smelling roses with Aladdin’s lamp and God’s helping hand. Do

Little did I know in 1964 it would take me half a century to meet  the past master of audio-visual Communicative teaching at the City Lit  in 2018 with the computer and methodology at his finger tips with total self-assurance and inimitable precision in his master class evening Italian course. He forestalls the tumbles and falls of protean SEI, LEI, and CHI, convinced that prevention is better than cure, cure always at hand. Roberto Minardi’s leaners joyously intone, “Sono Inglese, di Londra,” like Verdi’s Chorus of the Hebrews, with the serenity of the Mona Lisa, no sweat, no tears, no confusion, all happy smiles. How time shrinks in Merlin Roberto’s hands three hours from 6 to 9 feel like three minutes! The class wanes on la conga of devilishly clever games and realistic role play. Ciao, amici. Will we hear the nightingale again, if not next week, another fine day? Whatever will be, will be – Che sara’, sara’. che sara', sara' Dato’ Yunus

Do not cry, do not panic, Little Dorrit, God is in the sky For little boys, little girls, small pets marooned in the tower Because little children, hamsters and frail old pensioners cannot fly. Stay tight indoors, without milk or hope or light or sight Some firemen said don’t stay in, get out, do not dither Do not cry, do not panic, Little Dorrit, stay put, for God is in the sky. Do not move, do not cry, Little Dorrit, nor ask why You can hug Big Teddy, or go to the loo, do not fear the fire Because little children, hamsters and frail old pensioners must stay alive. Good and bad men and women pray inside The burning tower defying the burning byre Do not cry, do not panic, Little Dorrit, God is in the sky. Brave men and mothers, Little Dorrit and her hamster no longer try To stay calm, they cry and pray for a saviour Because little children, hamsters and frail old pensioners cannot fly. Shut-in little Dorrit and her friends and her hamster were not in sight Everyone

Unfold, delineate, demystify, Ting, how radicals Chinese Characters, HAO, a woman with a son, symbolises good, like the cryptic I have sinned in Latin for “I have Sindh”. Your wizardry with Mandarin words and characters flashes on the mind Mary Poppins’ bag of talking and writing aids with calming camellias on the left bank of Confucius and laughing fields of red, red peonies on the right bank. All ignorance stops outside your door, WOMEN say now and will always say, enlightenment suffuses room 216 with Mandarin wafting like music from flutes reminiscent of antique Cathay. Breathalysing the Brexit odyssey, we sing your signature tune FEICHANG HAO, Ting, City Lit’s soaring amethyst humming bird on the wing. 1-good  2-we  3-excellent Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) Barrister

He’s affable He’s amiable He’s amicable in all things he does He’s a psychiatrist He’s in clover He’s among us He’s an all-out winner with a jewel of a wife Shiela with a doting mother with an adorable family with Sofya the apple of his eye by name Haniff by calling a healer touching the face of God. Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) Barrister 15.12.2019

Stop! Listen to the sweet chimes cascading from room 216 like Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells: 1 MA   2 MA   3 MA   4 MA and POR BOR MOR. Bored no more, they sing as happy as a lark WOMEN XUEXI ZHONGWEN Like joyful jingle bells. The left wall covered with visual aids, flash cards diving like kingfishers, smiles and sounds intoxicating the learners, their faces light up like electric bulbs each time Ting “oks” their answer, with the charisma of an orchestra conductor, full of joy and zest for life, a dynamo of energy, she never ever sits down, no time to do so. Drills abandoned in the 70s revitalize realistic functional Chinese with precision, fun and practicality, cumulative revision remedying any confusion. She casts a spell on the class with her signature tune reverberating: FEICHANG HAO! EXCELLENT! a calming tonic for any stress. Her mantra? Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. Rapport. Rapport. Revision. Revision. Enthusiastic delivery of digestible

One more trip, one more trip, one more inglorious trip to rescue Brexit from the crashing jaws of the EU from 29 March to 31 October. Once more, dear Parliament, heal the breach, unite and close the widening ghastly gap perforce we fall back on another Marshall Aid, this time form the Silk Road or even Saudi Arabia or Malaysia. Maintain the integrity of the UK, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, as one whole. Cannibalise Brexit a little if you must, carve out the unpleasant part, give us our whole UK back, make us your permanent allies, we would make the EU our permanent interest. We would not be perfidious Albion, we would not put ourselves first like Trump. We are your next-door neighbours, for good or ill. The backstop is the worst of times for us and for you. Bless you all, the long, the short, and the tall, bless you all, ring out the old, ring in the new, so the nightingale may sing in Berkeley Square again. Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL

Oh come ye Silent EU give us Europa’s blessing, remove the Backstop, whatever it may mean, the backstab or not, before another Marshall Aid kicks in from Silk Road or even Saudi Arabia or Japan or remote Malaysia. We love Scotland, Wales and indeed Northern Ireland. We are one. Cannabalise Brexit a little if you must, carve out the unpleasant parts, but give us our freedom back. Make us your permanent allies, we would make EU our permanent interest. We would not be perfidious Albion, we would not put ourselves first like Trump. Oh come ye good European neighbours, we could do with your help. We are your next door neighbours, for good or ill. The Backstop is the sore point, it’s Catch 22 again. It is the worst of times for us and for you. Let the sun and the moon continue shining on EU and UK. Bless you all, the long, the short and the tall, the old and the new EU, bless you all. Let us work together without malice, with charity for all. Ring out the old, rin

Theresa May, ambushed by Gina Miller, the Courts and Tory rebels, makes a poignant plea with the Parliament to accept the best deal on offer from the EU, for she does not aspire to be the Sacrificial Lamb. Higamus, hogamus, the litmus test Brexit was Ecstasy. No more Perestroika or parley, just the Backstop. Divorce, divorce, third time divorce! EU retorts with its demand: alimony and Northern Ireland. They strive here, they strive there, jaded Brexit lingers on almost two years long, the mail-order Brexit languishes. Why? Brexit is caught in the crushing jaws of the economy. Tory unity and national interest evaporate in the argy-bargee steam. Loyalty, the Tories’ talisman, melts in the ceaseless confounding heat of entrenched interests, unwittingly leading to self-harm by the new Luddites. EU unable to deny Brexit, decides to spite it. May hopes Brexit can revive the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy that made Britain Great, that may bring back the golden days. EU

On the coldest winter's day of the year Be my Cleopatra and cruise with me And Venus on warm sunny Nile and be enchanted by Arabian Night belly dancing at the Great Pyramid. I'll be your aged Caesar glowing in your youth An emperor of platonic love I'll crown you with Jade and Marie Antoinette's own watch Heisted in 1983 from its final resting place in Jerusalem. At cherry blossom we'll ascend Regine's Club Moorish garden on 8th floor Watch flamingos swimming under the Japanese bridge In April teas at the Compleat Angler by the Thames In May I'll smother you with fragrant roses from Queen Mary's Gardens. These time-encrypted jewels will be our Taj Mahal to all Their good Karma will hug us in peace and war. Dato’ Yunus Raiss JP FRSA FCIL MEd BA BSc (Econ) Barrister